“Man’s mind is his basic tool of survival. Life is given to him, survival is not. His body is given to him, its sustenance is not. His mind is given to him, its content is not. To remain alive, he must act, and before he can act he must know the nature and purpose of his action. He cannot obtain his food without a knowledge of food and of the way to obtain it. He cannot dig a ditch-or build a cyclotron-without a knowledge of his aim and of the means to achieve it. To remain alive, he must think." John Galt (Ayn Rand)

Patents are not evil, profit is not a dirty word, providing for your family's future is not a sin, and what is mine is not your's just because you want it. Kellory.I have received NO secret government orders.(Watch for this notice to be removed)

There's gold in the creek right outside my deck. There's even mining claims further upstream. I have no idea what I'm doing, but I want to find a knowledgeable person to show me the ins and outs of panning. I learn best by seeing and doing.

There's gold in the creek right outside my deck. There's even mining claims further upstream. I have no idea what I'm doing, but I want to find a knowledgeable person to show me the ins and outs of panning. I learn best by seeing and doing.

If it was on State Land in Alaska, you owe the State a Royalty.... Check with DNR Mineral Rights Division... If on Federal Land, you need to check with BLM, and see if you are on someone else's Claim... If. So you owe the the Gold found. If it is OPEN Land, then you need to file a Legal Claim, ASAP... Before someone else beats to to it... In either case you will owe the FEDs a Royalty....

Bruce in alaska (BTPost) An Atheist will never be able to say, "I TOLD YOU SO"!! ....

If it was on State Land in Alaska, you owe the State a Royalty.... Check with DNR Mineral Rights Division... If on Federal Land, you need to check with BLM, and see if you are on someone else's Claim... If. So you owe the the Gold found. If it is OPEN Land, then you need to file a Legal Claim, ASAP... Before someone else beats to to it... In either case you will owe the FEDs a Royalty....

Only if I had a gold bearing stream next to my shack in the hill's.. Have the small equipment to take advantage of it however.. Maybe I should go out with a pan and see... Know about an area not to far away..

How would your ancestors look upon your life and deed's??
Pro Libertate

A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it... Proverbs 22:3

Then find out if there is any gold on it. The chances are high that there is because water flows downhill and so does gold, to the greatest extent possible.

There may be small amounts in the creek sand and larger amounts settled into natural sluice pockets in the bedrock or gravel a little deeper.

If you find any traces at all by panning, it's a good bet there's more deeper down in the form of nuggets or trapped deposits.

If so a sluice box or a small dredge might be a much better way to go than a pan.

If you find any significant amount of gold, then you need to decide whether or not to file a claim. Be sure that if you find gold and don't file a claim, as soon as the word gets out someone else will claim that location.

Consider also that the course of the creek may have changed over the ages, and there may be
gold to be found on either side of the water.

So let's say you go panning for gold in a creek bed and find some on your very first gold panning quest. When you go to sell that gold what questions are asked or gov forms to fill out, if any???

Click to expand...

Also, a lot of states you need a permit and you are only allowed to pan in certain areas. And, yes, they get a piece of the action...

"It is the duty of the patriot to protect his country from its government."
"An armed man is a citizen. An unarmed man is a subject."
"None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free."

If you do find a bit of gold, you can always sell it to a jeweler as high-purity scrap, like the stuff you can reclaim from electronics--dead computers, cell phones, and the like. Jewelers like the idea of buying electronic gold because they can
offer you less than market and maybe make a small killing.

Melt it down into a button, first, so the amount he looks at is the same amount you get back. He can do a scratch test to confirm the purity, and weigh it, and then it's just a matter of haggling the price. (Don't give it away.)

Don't even consider pawnshops. Not just because of having to show ID, but because they always want to pay 2 cents on the dollar.

I bring home buckets of creek gravel from my hometown in NC when I visit. I can always get several grams which I'm just saving up. People don't realize that there was more gold pulled from NC than the California Gold Rush ever dreamed of. It was also home to the first gold found in the US. If you know what to look for, there is still plenty there, and I once found a .625 ounce "nugget" in a field while walking to a creek.